The United Kingdom’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is investigating Thai Union Group subsidiary John West Foods Limited for allegedly conducting business in the past with illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU) operations out of Ghana, an independent auditor’s report of Thai Union revealed.
On 2 January, 2018, John West received notification that CPS intended to prosecute for “alleged offences of conducting business directly connected to IUU fishing imported from Ghana for the period between 2012 and 2014,” according to the auditor’s report, which was released on 31 December, 2018.
An initial hearing of the case before the U.K. Magistrates’ court in Tyne and Wear was held on 26 January, 2018. John West has been contesting the actions brought against it, the auditor’s report stated, and is, as of 31 December, 2018, “unable to predict their probable outcome of these matters.”
When reached for comment by SeafoodSource regarding the ongoing John West litigation, Thai Union said, “It is [our] policy not to comment on ongoing legal matters.”
Certain entities within Thai Union’s Europe Group are also under review by their respective tax authorities, noted the auditor’s report. These subsidiaries “have been cooperating with their local tax authorities,” the report said, and while results remain unfinalized, Thai Union’s “management does not expect any significant impact to the Group.”
Thai Union recently posted strong fourth quarter results for 2018, with sales of THB 36 billion (USD 1.1 billion, EUR 970 million) driven predominantly by steady volume growth in the company’s frozen and chilled seafood segments as well as in its pet care business. Quarterly sales were up 3.7 percent year-over-year in value, according to the Bangkok, Thailand-based seafood supplier. However annual sales declined by 1.2 percent in value, to THB 133.3 billion (USD 4.1 billion, EUR 3.6 billion), due to the appreciation of the Thai baht against the U.S. dollar, Thai Union said.
Additionally, on 20 February, Thai Union announced it would be purchasing Mitsubishi’s 49 percent share in TMAC for THB 110 million (USD 3.5 million, EUR 3.1 million). A shrimp farming business founded in 2012, TMAC aims to pursue Global Aquaculture Alliance Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) four-star certification in 2019. Achieving BAP four-star status will help “to eliminate potential conflict of interest” between Thai Union and Mitsubishi “by allocating actual cost for this [certification] to Thai Union,” Thai Union said in a statement.
